ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Purchased by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 47.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after buying an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,132,430,000 after purchasing an additional 438,241 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $717,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $567,111,000 after purchasing an additional 415,878 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 817,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,873,981. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.90.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on COP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.47.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.